


Roaring Numbers

by bluemisfortune



Series: ROAN AU [21]
Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe, Background Relationships, Implied/Referenced Incest, Swearing, it's a cute slightly fluffy friendship fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-14
Updated: 2017-06-14
Packaged: 2018-11-13 21:29:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,610
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11193828
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bluemisfortune/pseuds/bluemisfortune
Summary: Thomas is fiercer then ever but catch him right and he's just as soft and warm.





	Roaring Numbers

 It’s hard to be around Thomas. It’s hard to even consider him Thomas. He’s Leo. Photon Leo. Their Leo. Gauche doesn’t understand it. Everything he thought he knew has been completely turned upside down. Thomas and Leo were the same person. His death was all completely set up and for ten years he’s been out here in the Archive. 

 For ten years, their Leo - who they believed dead, murdered by Prince Thomas - has been right here. Plotting against them. Hating them. Throwing aside everything that he’d once held dear and becoming the terrifying monster, 88. Cold and brutal and cruel. Unwilling to listen to reason. Unwilling to release his tight grip on hatred, anger and revenge. 

 “How did you survive?” Gauche says quietly. 

 They’re forced to spend five minutes together when the bosses order Thomas to test when he can do. They’re sitting together, Thomas on his beautiful new Leo - Destiny Leo, he’s told, chaser 88 - and Gauche next to him on a training chaser that really isn’t as comfortable as his Bounzer. 

 “Dr Faker saved me,” Leo replies. “Brought me here. Fixed me up and made me strong again.” 

 “Leo-”

 “Thomas.”

 “Uh-”

 “Chasers 88 and T-Beta, clear for launch on runway one,” Alit calls from the command center. “Final checks.”

 Thomas raises his hand and Gauche does the same. He can’t help watching Thomas. How did their boisterous, charming Leo end up like this? Ten years is such a long time. But Gauche still looks at him in that white and gold suit, he could almost see the red as blue. As if he’s still back there. 

 

_  “Isn’t it kinda a handicap for Bounzer to be anywhere near Queen?” Leo laughed as they’re lining up on the runway. “He’ll spend all his time sighing and watching her like a schoolgirl in love.” _

  _“Like you’re any better with Dragon, kid,” Gauche snapped back._

  _Leo puffs out his cheeks under his helmet’s visor. “The difference is, I stand a chance with him. Right?”_

  _“Dragon is already courting, Leo,” Queen says. “And you know it.”_

  _“Enough,” Dragon says firmly, glancing back at them. “I’m not courting anyone.” They all frown and Dragon turns away sharply. “I’m just- I’m not-”_

  _“He’s a lucky guy,” Leo sighs, leaning on his controls. “I’m jealous.”_

  _“L-Leo?”_

  _“Don’t you know, boss?” he purrs, leaning forward and Dragon tilts his head back a little. Gauche laughs. Dragon’s definitely going red. “I’m mad about you.”_

  _“Leo,” Queen hisses. “Have some respect for those who outrank you.”_

  _“Alright, you four,” Ceasar sighs, stepping out in front of them. “Enough. Alright, Dragon, this’ll be the first time you’re completely in charge. You three behave. The four of you are the best Paladins I have. Look after each other and keep your heads on straight. And no romance.”_

  _“No promises,” Leo laughs. “You can’t expect me to ride behind Dragon’s ass all day and not want him bad.”_

  _“Leo?!”_

  _“Enough, Leo,” Ceasar snaps, smacking Leo’s thigh in passing._

  _“Yes sir.”_

  _Gauche is sure Caesar and Leo’s hands brush lightly in passing; soft and intimate and loving. Gauche tries to ignore he’s seen that. He doesn’t mind if Leo and Caesar are a thing, but they’re both flirting with Dragon constantly. As if anyone can ever tell what those two are actually thinking._

  _“Get ready to ride out.”_

 

 “Chaser T-Beta, launch.” 

 Gauche takes off after Leo. It’s great to finally be flying again. Even if it’s a pretty pathetic training chaser. He doesn’t need it, but to keep from being murdered in his sleep by some angry Number, he shouldn’t go demanding he’s treated like an experienced Paladin. 

 “You know, we really didn’t know, Leo,” Gauche says as he pulls up beside him. “If we’d know you were… We never would have let that happen to you…”

 “Keep up,” Leo says without looking at him. “It shouldn’t be any struggle for you, but it’s procedure. And stop calling me Leo. It’s Thomas.” 

  _Thomas._ Of course. Leo would never be so cold. He’s so angry. 

 Thomas pulls his chaser away and Gauche follows. They’re easy movements. Basic maneuvers. Thomas is as good all round as ever. Nothing stops him. He moves on the wind. He may as well be a bird. But Gauche follows and keeps up, even on this machine. 

 

 “Hit the showers, then Anna will want to see you,” Thomas says, leading the way down the halls after their exercises are done. “She’ll be taking measurements and readings from your training runs over the next few days and with your skill a chaser will be in production within a few days.” 

 “That’s nearly a complement,” Gauche says. 

 “You’re not as good as I remember.” 

 Gauche sighs and nods. He opens up his locker. Nasch and a kid Gauche hasn’t been introduced to are changing into their riding suits. Apparently today is a training day. Gauche has yet to actually see anyone go out on a job, but he knows from his days with Kaito, the creatures that created Numbers didn’t show up every day.

 “It’s not often we see you putting so much effort into someone, boss,” the new kid says. “And someone who managed to nearly get the better of you too.”

 “Watch what you’re implying, Kyouji,” Thomas hisses.

 Kyouji smiles and pulls Nasch away. “Let’s go, Nasch.” 

 “Don’t touch me, spider freak.”

 “Oh, stop that,” Thomas snaps. “You two used to be friends.”

 And Thomas used to be Kaito’s closest friends but that’s hardly ended well. Kyouji and Nasch glare at each other as they stomp out to get to work. Thomas smiles absently watching them go and Gauche frowns a little. 

 “You never change.” He frowns and Thomas glances up at him. “Aren’t you coming?” Thomas frowns, hands brushing his suit before shaking his head. “Oi, Leo, I might not want to be here, but I-”

 “Thomas.” He wraps his jacket around his shoulders and sits on the bench in the middle of the room. “For the last time, my name is Thomas. It always was. Thomas fucking Arclight!” He sighs and lowers his head, resting his arms on his knees. “Not that any of that matters anymore. 88 is just fine.”

 “Urgh, whatever,” he grumbles, stipping off and heading into the showers. “You’re as impossible to deal with as ever too.”

 

 “You shouldn’t feel bad, Paladin,” Vector says a few days laters. Thomas has stomped out of the standby lounge, leaving him with Durbe, Nasch and Vector in the middle of the night. “He’s not easy.”

 “Romancing at Arclight is like asking for a broken hand,” Nasch says.

 “You don’t need to tell me about his family, Number, even if I did have any intention of romance,” Gauche mutters. “I’ve slept with more of them than you.” 

 Nasch’s eyes darken slightly and Durbe sighs, putting his hands firmly on his shoulders. “You shouldn’t be so quick to assume life outside the Archive is so much better than within, _Number 86_. Our dear Nasch is very close with that family. And, of course, your former boss.” 

 “Can’t see for the life of me what’s so attractive about a pipsqueak like you anyway,” Gauche grumbles. “Chris at least I can understand, he’ll sleep with anything when he’s horny. But Kaito and Leo should know better.”

 “Thomas,” Vector mutters. “His name is Thomas. Calling him Leo pisses him off more than calling him Tom. Unless you’re Chris.”

 “It’s a hard habit to break.”

 

 Vector rolls his eyes and suddenly Nasch is thrown back on the couch with Vector ontop of him. Durbe sighs and rolls his eyes, stepping away to sit at the computer in the corner, ignoring the pair speaking in hushed tones. Nasch is snarling and Vector is grinning. Gauche frowns a little. Their lips press roughly together and Nasch yells into Vector’s mouth, snatching at his jacket and kicking beneath him. Durbe barely glances up and Gauche wonders if he should intervene. Nasch doesn’t exactly seem welcoming of Vector’s advances. 

 There’s a brief fight and Nasch manages to reverse their positions. Only, to Gauche’s surprise, Nasch doesn’t make any move to get away from Vector. Instead, he drags Vector up and presses their mouth together once more. 

 “No sex in the lounge,” Durbe scolds, throwing a pillow at the pair. He glances at Gauche and smiles tightly. “You don’t have to stay, just make sure you listen for the alarm if it goes off.”

 Gauche nods. He doesn’t want to be around the lounge if Vector and Nasch are going to be sucking face all night. Numbers really are ridiculous, horny bastards. They get off on violence. Have no shame. Being here. Being one of them. It’s no wonder Droite wouldn’t look at him. 

 

 “You should come and join us,” Alit says the next night. “We’re going down to one of the beaches, the one where Nasch and Vector always hook up when they wanna do it under the stars-”

 “Didn’t need that mental imagine, Alit,” Gauche sighs.

 “Yeah, yeah, point is that we’re having fun down there,” he continues. “And you should come. You’re one of the gang. Sorta. I mean, you know everything anyway. It’s not like you’re gonna be surprised if we talk about rebellion stuff.” 

 “So there is a rebellion?”

 “Who knows? Boss says, if you’re here to spy on us, there’s not point trying to keep you out, it’ll just make you suspicious. And if you’re not, we shouldn’t keep you out anyway. And you’re kinda obviously interested in being friends with the boss again, right? You’re not gonna get anywhere by hiding away here. You and him just need to get on and have it out if you ask me.”

 “You’re ridiculous,” he sighs but nods. “Alright, alright. But I’m probably not welcome.”

 “The boss isn’t like that. You’ll see. You’re a Number. He’ll get along with you in the end. Him and Nasch wind each other up like no one’s business, but they fuck around and when they’re on a job they’re unbeatable.”

 “Nasch seems to fuck around with everyone,” Gauche says under his breath.

 “Don’t let him hear you say that, he hates it when people say that sorta shit about Nasch. He’s super protective about him despite them arguing.”

 

 The beach in the bay is quiet and lit by moonlight and small campfires. Nasch is out in the water, bathed in moonlight, gazing out at the horizon, looking like some kind of mystical sea spirit. Vector and Yuuma are flopped out on the sand, and on top of each other. There’s a blanket and a hamper, full of food and a cooler box. Apparently this is something they do semi regularly.

 “Who invited the Photon fucker?” Vector says, not even looking his way.

 “I did,” Thomas says, glancing back. 

 Gauche pauses slightly and Alit grins. “He’s our boss for a reason.”

 “Sit,” he says, holding out a can.

 Gauche walks over slowly and sits next to him by the cooler. He takes the can of bear and cracks it open, watching Thomas warily. He’s got far more temperamental in the past ten years. Maybe that’s because he’s a Number. Maybe he was always like that and Gauche never noticed. Prince Thomas had certainly been hot and cold. Maybe this is the same. Maybe he’s always been like this and held himself together better as Leo. Maybe he was happier as Leo.

 “So-”

 “Lions are guardians,” Thomas says suddenly, gazing out at Nasch in the water. Gauche frowns. “I wanted to protect people back then. Why I loved being a Paladin. I wanted to protect people. I wanted to protect the people I loved.” A small smile crosses his lips. Something Gauche hasn’t seen in a long. “I… wanted to protect you guys. Chris.”

 “Kaito?” Thomas’ cheeks go red and he sips his beer. “But you guys are- Never mind. He wasn’t really your brother and I’ve seen you making out with your actual brother anyway.”

 “I’ve seen you making out with my actual brother too.”

 Gauche smiles slightly and Thomas turns away. Maybe he hasn’t changed all that much. Maybe he is still the same ridiculous Leo they’ve always known and loved. With his ridiculous crush on Kaito and adoration for Chris.

 

 “Is this all because of your dumb crush on Kaito?”

 “What part of me making out with Chris makes you think I’m still hung up on Kaito?”

 “You kissed him at the festival,” Nasch calls. Thomas goes bright red and turns away sharply, glaring helplessly at nothing. “Let’s face it, you told him you hated him so much because you loved him, right Durbe?” 

 “Mm, I suppose he did,” Durbe murmurs. 

 “I did not!” Thomas cries, getting to his feet and glaring out at Nasch as the others laugh. “And I didn’t mean it like that! I mean- I just-  were brothers! I loved him like I love any of you guys!”

 “Huh?” Anna laughs. “Even Nasch?”

 “I thought you’d be underage on the mainland,” Mizael says. 

 “I never even got to kiss him back on the mainland,” he snaps. “Nothing happened, I don’t love him, I hate him. I _hate_ him!”

 “You told me you loved him,” Yuuma yawns.

 “That was ten years ago!”

 Gauche smiles a little and takes a long drink as the group argue. Thomas isn’t so different from their Leo at all. He’s still the same Leo under all that anger and hatred. Having only seen him as 88, the monstrous Number standing against the Paladins and the monarchy, he’d never seen this side of him. But suddenly all makes sense. 

 

 “Lion’s are guardians, huh?” Thomas glances down at him and Gauche smiles back. “I think I can see why you’d want to protect this. You've kinda... got something special here, haven't you? The kinda mood that makes a guy feel a home. Seeing you like this, it's way better fanservice than anything you gave back in the day.”

 “That’s one way of putting it,” he replies with a small smile.

 “Daww, you wanna protect us, boss?” Vector sneers.

 “You know what, why would I want to protect any of them?” Thomas huffs. “They should be able to look after themselves by now or I haven’t done a decent job training them. I don’t want a bunch of useless- _Hey!_ ”

 Gilag picks Thomas up over his shoulder, even as he yells and squirms. Gauche is sure he could get loose if he wanted to. He’s a Paladin, even after ten years, he’s not lost too much of that skill. But Gilag tosses Thomas into the ocean waves as they other get up and join them in the surf. Yuuma grins and grabs Gauche’s hand, pulling him to the shore with him as Thomas breaks the surface with gasp, coughing and spluttering. 

 Nasch laughs warmly, wrapping his arms loosely around Thomas’ shoulder and leaning into his neck lightly. 

 “You need to cool off, boss,” Nasch teases. 

 He sighs and closes his eyes and Thomas returns the gesture, leaning back against him and resting his hands against Nasch’s arms. Gauche blinks slowly. He’s not seen Thomas look so relaxed the entire time he’s been here. 

 Out there in the moonlight and ripples, Gauche can’t help thinking Nasch looks like some kind of siren with his all too willing victim. Whoever Nasch is, he has Thomas and Kaito wrapped around his little finger. Soothing some of the most savage, ruthless fighters their land has ever seen. They’re both putty in his hands. Gauche will just have to keep a closer eye on him.

 “We want to protect you too, boss,” Nasch murmurs. “All of us.”

**Author's Note:**

> This wasn't actually going to be a super icky friendship fic, it was goning to be more IVGauche but then things got mushy and it ran off with me. So I may have to get to the actual IVGauche planned in the next fic once I've updated the chaptered ones again.


End file.
